


Lifting Her Spirits

by Dreamin



Series: The Adventures of the Two Hearts [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Granada Sherlolly, Older Man/Younger Woman, Pre-Relationship, Victorian (non-TAB) Molly in the Sherlock Holmes (1984) world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22812322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamin/pseuds/Dreamin
Summary: Molly wants solitude but finds company is better, at least when said company is Sherlock Holmes.
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper
Series: The Adventures of the Two Hearts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623925
Comments: 12
Kudos: 74





	Lifting Her Spirits

**Author's Note:**

  * For [afteriwake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/gifts).



Molly didn’t bother to glance in the mirror as she left her flat, she knew she was less-than-presentable – her oldest dress, an even older wool shawl, and her plainest hat. It was attire for solitude instead of company and that was exactly what she was after. It was the morning after Lady Ingram’s postmortem and she still hadn’t fully recovered her usual good cheer, her mind frequently turning back to the woman and her unborn child.

 _I don’t even know if she had told anyone about the baby besides her husband,_ Molly thought as she walked out of the house and started up Baker Street. Normally, she’d take the short walk to Hyde Park but, wanting to avoid running into anyone she knew, she headed north towards Regent’s Park. _Of course, Lord Ingram and one of his many mistresses are in gaol on suspicion of murder. Mr. Holmes did make it a point to come back to the morgue just after my shift last night to tell me of their arrests. I have heard people call him aloof, even cold, but he has been nothing of the sort to me. It must be because we are colleagues._

She was just passing a comfortable-looking home not far from Regent’s Park when the first-floor windows were thrown open and smoke billowed out. Molly was about to send for a firetruck when Dr. Watson stuck his head out one window, coughing, until he spotted her, grinned, and waved slightly before turning back to the sitting room.

He moved away from the window and she assumed he was coming downstairs to greet her but it was Mr. Holmes who opened the front door instead. His eyes widened when he saw her and she once again felt like a specimen under his gaze.

“Dr. Hooper?” He shot a dirty look in the direction of his sitting room then turned back to her, smiling a bit. “Dr. Watson didn’t tell me you were here when he sent me out to get some ‘fresh air.’”

Molly chuckled. “Then I assume it was tobacco smoke that came billowing out of your sitting room windows just now?”

He nodded. “I was up all night pondering the case. May I escort you to wherever it is you’re headed?”

She blinked in surprise at his sudden question but his charming smile convinced her to accept. “I was going to take a walk in Regent’s Park before the fashionable people arrived.”

“That would explain your attire.” Before she had a chance to wish she was wearing something prettier, he added as he offered her his arm, “You must have a fondness for cherries.”

She accepted it, blushing a bit, and they started walking towards the park. “Yes. This was the first dress I bought after medical school.” The embroidered cherries scattered over the white dress had appealed to her sense of whimsy at the time.

“It suits you.”

Molly smiled wryly. “Thank you, but it’s hardly fit for company nowadays.”

Mr. Holmes smirked. “That depends entirely on the company.”

 _Is he flirting with me? No, it’s not possible._ She decided to change the subject. “Why were you still pondering Lady Ingram’s murder? The guilty parties have been apprehended.”

His cheeks colored faintly. “There were one or two things that were not explained to my satisfaction.” At her inquisitive look, he waved his free hand in dismissal. “Inconsequential things, nothing to be concerned about.”

She sighed in relief. “For a moment, I thought there might be something wrong with the postmortem or the tests.”

“Nothing like that, I assure you.”

 _Then why was he up all night long, smoking away?_ She decided to let the matter rest as they entered the park. It was nearly empty of people, just a handful out for their morning constitutional. In a few hours, it would be full of fashionable people showing off their fashionable clothes and their fashionable carriages, but for the moment, it was practically hers and Mr. Holmes’ alone.

 _Just think – a year ago, I never would have been allowed to take a walk with a man alone like this._ Not for the first time, Molly was grateful that being thirty meant that she was a “hopeless spinster.” She could be out in public with a man and not worry about her reputation, or his. She had half a mind to ask her companion if he and Dr. Watson were going to attend Lord and Lady Ellison’s ball the following week but decided not to. _Dr. Watson’s stories in_ The Strand _paint Mr. Holmes as a person who does not care for parties of any sort._ Instead, she decided to get to know him a little better. “I understand you have an older brother but do you have any other family?”

Mr. Holmes chuckled. “No, Mycroft is quite enough.” At her raised eyebrow, he sighed. “Our parents passed on years ago, neither of them had brothers or sisters that survived to adulthood, so no aunts, uncles, or cousins.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” she murmured.

“Thank you.” He led her to a large fountain and they sat down on the ledge. “Your family situation is similar.”

Molly nodded. “No surviving family except my mother. I have tea with her when our schedules allow and dinner with her every Sunday night. The only other time I see her is when we are both invited somewhere.”

“Does she give parties herself?”

“She always only has one dinner party, in August, to close out the Season.” She smiled a bit. “The past few years, I’ve managed to get out of attending by saying that I was needed at St. Bartholomew’s.”

Mr. Holmes chuckled approvingly. “A convenient excuse.” He must have seen something in her eyes, for he asked gently, “Are you still thinking about Lady Ingram?”

She nodded. “I can’t get her out of my mind. Her funeral is tomorrow, I sent flowers.”

“I’m sure the gesture will be very much appreciated.” He hesitated a moment before reaching out to take her hand. “You have a gentle heart, Dr. Hooper, though I fear it is too gentle for your line of work.”

Despite his leather glove and her cotton one, she thought she could still feel the warmth from his hand. She reveled in the sensation for a moment before taking her hand back. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Holmes, but I do not let my heart, too gentle or not, keep me from doing my duty, nor should I.” The words came out harsher than she intended, but then he was far from the first man to question whether she was emotionally capable of working with the dead.

“Forgive me,” he murmured. “You are perfectly capable, and would never let your emotions interfere with your work, but I fear for your heart outside of the morgue.”

“That is unnecessary, Mr. Holmes. I have my own ways of dealing with my heart at times like this. A walk in the park helps.” She smiled softly. “As does talking to friends.”

Mr. Holmes smiled back. “Then I am glad Dr. Watson insisted I get out of the flat today.”

Molly giggled. “So am I.”

By the time he walked her to her door later that morning, Molly’s good humor had returned, thanks to the man beside her. “Thank you for this, Mr. Holmes.”

“Think nothing of it, Dr. Hooper – I am at your service.” He tipped his hat to her. “Until next time.”

She nodded. “Until next time.” She watched him walk away until he was lost among the other pedestrians, then she went inside, unable to keep a smile off her face.


End file.
